Bowling ball accelerator and wipers



June 4, 1968 A. P. ROGERS I BOWLING BALL ACCELERATOR AND WIPERS Filed March 25, 1965 Ma 2 Q9 United States Patent 3,386,735 BOWLING BALL ACCELERATOR AND WIPERS Albert P. Rogers, Spring Lake, Mich, assignor to Brunswick Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 25, 1965, Ser. No. 442,618 4 Claims. (Cl. 273-49) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A bowling ball accelerator and wiper combination in which cleaning elements act to clean a rotating bowling ball while the ball is being positively advanced and rotated by the driven belt of the ball accelerator.

This invention relates to wipers for bowling balls and more particularly to the bowling ball wipers designed for use with a ball accelerator.

While the ball accelerator, such as disclosed, for example, in US. patent application Ser. No. 334,986, now abandoned, returns the ball to the bowler under power and in a fraction of time that it would take the ball to travel without the aid of the accelerator, the ball is received by the bowler with dust and all of the other foreign particles on its surface. In the past there have been ball wipers, however, for such wipers to be effective they were normally located to have a retarding effect on the ball.

An object of this invention is to provide a new and improved wiper structure which will wipe bowling balls free from dust and other foreign objects.

Another object of this invention is to wipe the ball free from dust and other particles while the ball is being returned under power to the bowler.

Further objects and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a portion of a bowling lane structure with the ball accelerator associated therewith and embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a transverse vertical section on an enlarged scale taken generally along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary vertical section on an enlarged scale taken generally along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawing and will herein be described in detail an embodiment of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated. The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.

The exemplary bowling ball accelerator is generally indicated at in FIG. 1. A kickback 11 exits a ball B onto guide tracks 12 which roll a ball over to a position above the rear end 13 of the kickback. A blade 14 is pivoted at 15 to form a continuation of the guide tracks 12 and to assist in a ball changing its direction of travel prior to entry into the ball accelerator 10.

The ball accelerator 10 overlies the kickback 11 to receive a ball from the rear portion 13 of the kickback and specifically at the location of blade 14 and performs two distinct functions in handling of the ball. It rapidly accelerates the ball and it then changes the direction of the ball traveling at the speed derived from the accelerator. The ball accelerator embodies a track means 16 and a belt means in the form of an endless, traveling belt 17 interconnected by a frame work. This frame work is suitably attached to the top of the kickbacks 11. More specifically, an inverted channel frame 18 mounts a rotatable drive pulley 19 and an adjustably mounted driven pulley 20 and a driving motor 21 which is connected by pulleys and a belt 22 to drive the drive pulley 19.

' The supporting frame 18 for the belt and pulley system is secured to a pair of vertical frame straps 23 on each side of the frame with these straps being connected to the track 16 and to the top of the kickbacks 11 by the attaching brackets 24.

A more detailed description of the ball accelerator is provided in the aforesaid application.

A ball wiper, generally designated 30, is located on both sides of the track 16. Since the mounting for both wipers is the same reference will be made herein to a specific mounting for one wiper.

As shown in FIG. 1, a strap 31 is connected between vertical frame straps 23. This strap 31 is mounted in an inclined position to correspond to the inclination of track 16 of the ball accelerator 10 at the location of the wiper 30. As best seen in FIG. 2, a rear brace 32 and a front brace 33 are secured to the strap 31. The opposite ends of braces 32 and 33, facing the interior of the ball accelerator 10, are fastened to a backing member 34. The backing member 34 is of a somewhat concave configuration similar to the curvature of the surface of the bowling ball. A slightly resilient pad 35 is attached to the backing member 34 by cementing or by any other suitable means. As an example, the pad 35 consists of approximately one inch thick urethane foam which is about 23 inches long. A wiper cloth 36 is fitted around the pad 35 and has a peripheral edge wrapped around the backing member 34. The peripheral edge of the wiper cloth 36 has an elastic band 37 with a tie string 38 half way along its length to hold it to the pad 35 and to the backing member 34. The tie string 38 has a clasp or a pin 39 which is used to tightly secure the wiper cloth 36 to the backing member 34. The wiper cloth 36 is treated for best removal of dirt and when it becomes sulficiently soiled it can be laundered, retreated and used again. For example, the wiper cloth 36 could be treated with a material Sold under the trademark Kex.

Since the backing member 34 is of a somewhat concave configuration, the pad 35 and the wiper cloth 36 assume a like shape to correspond to the curvature of the surface of a bowling ball, so that a good contact is made between the wiper cloth and the surface of the bowling ball.

As the ball passes through the accelerator 10, in the area of the wiper 30, it makes at least two complete revolutions relative to the stationary wiper and thus, most of the ball is wiped clean of dust and dirt. During the course of a full game of bowling, the random position of the ball will take care of the small band under the accelerator belt 17 which is not wiped during any one passage. Also, since the bowling ball is under power when going through the accelerator 10, there is no loss of ball speed in the process of wiping thus giving this device a definite advantage.

The wipers disclosed herein can also be used in conjunction with a bowling ball power lift device, or with any other suitable equipment.

I claim:

1. A bowling ball accelerator and ball wiper combination, said accelerator including track means and an endless belt overlying said track means, a pair of pulleys for said belt with one pulley being a drive pulley, said pulleys being spaced from the track means a distance whereby the belt contacts the ball as the ball moves onto said track means and continues said contact along the length of the track means with susbtantially maximum belt tension being exerted as the ball travels along the track means, frame members for the accelerator along the said track means, and defining with the belt and track means a generally tunnel-like passage for a ball, a pair of ball wipers attached to said frame members one at each side of the passage each comprising, a backing member, a padding attached to said backing member, a wiper cloth secured about said padding and facing said passage, said wiper cloth engaging the surface of a bowling ball rotating under power past said wiper without causing a decrease in the velocity of said ball.

2. A bowling ball accelerator and ball wiper combination, said accelerator including track means and an endless beltoverlying said track means, a pair of pulleys for said belt with one pulley being a drive pulley, said pulleys being spaced from the track means a distance whereby the belt contacts the ball as the ball moves onto said track means and continues said contact along the length of the track means with substantially maximum belt tension being exerted as the ball travels along the track means, frame members for the accelerator along said track means and defining with the belt and the track means a generally tunnel-shaped passage for a ball, a pair of ball wipers attached to said frame members one at each side of the passage each comprising, a backing member, a padding, said padding being relatively elongated and consisting of a relatively thin flexible material secured to said backing member and a wiper cloth fitted around said padding and facing said passage, said wiper cloth being releasably held to said backing member, said wiper cloth engaging the surface of a bowling ball rotating under power past said wiper without causing a decrease in the velocity of said ball.

3. A bowling ball accelerator and ball wiper combination, said accelerator including track means and an endless belt overlying said track means, a pair of pulleys for said belt with one pulley being a drive pulley, said pulleys being spaced from the track means a distance whereby the belt contacts the ball as the ball moves onto said track means and continues said contact along the length of the track means, frame members for the accelerator along the said track means, and defining with the belt and track means a generally tunnel-like passage for a ball, a pair of ball wipers attached to said frame members one at each side of the passage each comprising, a backing member, a wiper cloth on each backing member and facing said passage, and means urging the wiper member toward the track means, said wiper cloth engaging the surface of a bowling ball rotating under power past said wiper without causing a decrease in the velocity of said ball.

4. In a combination as defined in claim 1 wherein said padding is relatively elongated and consists of a relatively thin foam, said wiper cloth has its peripheral edge wrapped around the backing member, and the peripheral edge of the wiper cloth has an elastic band with a tie string positioned approximately half way along the length of the wiper cloth to securely hold the wiper cloth to the padding and to the backing member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,267,112 12/1941 Kovalik 38140 2,338,547 1/ 1944 Sheldon 273-47 2,528,341 10/1950 Creely 27347 X 2,831,205 4/ 1958 Ernst 15-21 3,127,172 3/1964 Troiano et al. 27349 3,231,273 1/1966 Eastman 273-54 3,304,086 2/ 1967 Schankler 27347 3,304,088 2/1967 Conklin 27347 FOREIGN PATENTS 360,630 4/1962 Switzerland.

ANTON 0. OECHSLE, Primary Examiner. 

